Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

While tailgating, you know you are going to use something that has a zipper. Your jacket comes to mind or even that carrying bag for your tailgating gear. Unfortunately if that zipper breaks or the teeth no longer will stay together, you have throw the entire item out and get a new one. Along comes the FiznZip, which will repair broken zippers allowing you to get a few more seasons out of your tailgating gear.

FixnZip isn’t an average zipper repair kit. It’s a replacement zipper slider that you can install without tools or sewing. Simply remove the broken zipper and discard it. Place the FixnZip onto the teeth of the zipper, tighten it down and salvage any broken zipper, saving you tons of money.

The FixnZip comes in three different sizes; small medium and large and can repair any size zipper, metal or plastic. The FixnZip website has instructions on how to repair and salvage all kind of zippers including Open-End Zippers most commonly found on jackets, sleeping bags, etc., Closed-End Zippers commonly found on tents, pants, bags/luggage, etc. and Invisible/Watertight Zippers commonly found on wetsuits, athletic wear, etc.

Take a look at the video to see how easy it is to fix a broken zipper using the FixnZip.

You’re probably mentally inventorying your tailgating gear and noting which items have zippers that either are broken or need to be replaced. You also don’t know of the ones that need repair, what size you will need. Luckily, most zippers have a size number (1-10) embossed on the back of the slider. Once you know your zipper size, you can know if you will need a small, medium or large FixnZip.

We had a chance test and review the FixnZip and it passed with flying colors. We had a zipper hoodie sweatshirt that the zipper was worn out and was not grabbing the teeth of the zipper anymore. We removed the old zipper and followed the direction on replacing it with the FixnZip. With minimal effort, the FixnZip was installed and immediately saved the sweatshirt for future tailgates to come.

After testing it and repairing our sweatshirt with little effort, the FixnZip is definitely “Tailgate Approved”

No matter your choice of size, the FixnZip will cost $9.99. It comes in the three previously mentioned sizes and two different colors; Nickel and Dark Nickel.

For more information or to purchase a FixnZip for your tailgating gear, visit: fixnzip.com

If you are a veteran or an amateur tailgater, more than likely you have used one of those reusable ice packs to keep your cooler cold without having to buy ice at the store. They save time and money and are highly effective. Another product that saves time and money and is highly effective is the Ice Pack Flask.

If you are going to drink while inside of a venue, you have to be smart in order to save some money. The costs of alcoholic beverages inside a concert or sporting venue are ridiculous. Charging $9 for a beer and sometimes $15 for a mixed drink? Crazy. That’s why when we discovered other stealth flasks like the Lotion Flasks, Tampon Flasks and Sunscreen Flasks, we were so excited to be saving hundreds of dollars by smuggling our own booze into events.

There are all different types of stealth flasks on the market and the Ice Pack Flask is a great addition. The main selling point is that most of the stealth flasks you bring into venues only carry in a small quantity of liquid. Each Lotion Flask holds 4 ounces and the Sunscreen Flask hold 8 ounces. The Ice Pack Flask holds 14 ounces and looks exactly like a reusable freezer ice pack.

We tested the Ice Pack Flask and it works like a charm. The plastic is food grade and is designed to hold liquids. The Ice Pack Flask will not leak and you can freeze it. Fill it up with your favorite liquor and toss it in the freezer overnight. Because 80 proof liquor will not freeze, you can have chilled liquor in your Ice Pack Flask even after you bring it into the venue.

(Disclaimer:We received a sample of the Ice Pack Flask. The fact this sample was provided to us free of charge in no way influenced our opinion of the product nor did it impact our ability to test and review the product fairly and objectively.)

As you can see in the photos below, the Ice Pack Flask looks identical to a regular reusable ice pack.

Besides dropping it into your tailgating cooler if you tailgate in an area that has alcohol restrictions, the Ice Pack Flask would be perfect for taking it to the beach, a picnic, street fairs, golf courses, hotel pools… anywhere alcohol is restricted or you just don’t want to pay the high prices inside the venue.

The liquor holds 14 Oz. of liquid, is reusable and is virtually indiscernible from a real, reusable ice pack and the Ice Pack Flask in order to smuggle your booze inside an event. Based on the portability, the affordability and the undetectable nature of how it looks, the Ice Pack Flask gets the Tailgating Ideas “Tailgate Approved” label.

Normally priced at $17, the Ice Pack Flask is on sale for $15 plus shipping. To learn more about the Ice Pack Flask or to pick one up for your next tailgate, visit springbreak247.com or to view the product directly, click HERE.

We all want good tunes at our tailgate. After all, what is a good tailgate without good music? Also, who wants to lug an old school boom box or a hefty speaker to the tailgate lot to get rich sound? Certainly not me. So when we learned of the Rapoo A500 Bluetooth Portable NFC Speaker claiming to be lightweight and portable but pump the tunes without losing sound quality, we said we had to give it a try.

(Disclaimer:We received a sample of the Rapoo A500 Bluetooth Portable NFC Speaker. The fact this sample was provided to us free of charge in no way influenced our opinion of the product nor did it impact our ability to test and review the product fairly and objectively.)

Rapoo speaker next to an iPhone 4S

The Rapoo A500 Bluetooth Portable NFC Speaker is rather small but it puts out big sound. It has Bluetooth 4.0 which produces high-quality stereo audio by connecting to Bluetooth-enabled devices, like your smartphone or tablet. You can make and receive voice calls through the speaker and use it as a small telephone conference device. Now you can conference call your buddy who couldn’t make it to the tailgate and have everyone there chime in at the same time and make him jealous.

In addition to the Bluetooth capability, you can also make the Bluetooth connection by simply tapping your NFC-enabled device on the speaker. No more trying to pair your device and have the speaker “find” your device. If someone arrives at your tailgate and has a better playlist than you, simply have them tap their device and make the switch. You can even have two devices control the speaker at the same time.

While tailgating you are normally up and around, playing tailgating games, grilling and socializing. You probably don’t want to leave your phone sitting next to the sound speaker unattended. The Rapoo A500 Bluetooth Portable NFC Speaker allows you to keep your device on your person while you move around. We tested out the Rapoo A500 Bluetooth Portable NFC Speaker to see just how far away you can get from the speaker before losing your Bluetooth connection.

As you saw in the video, I traveled quite a distance before the Rapoo started to lose the signal. We estimated it was more than a football field of distance before the speaker started to cut out and lose sound. Quite impressive indeed.

Brewery tour tunes on the go

We also took the Rapoo A500 Bluetooth Portable NFC Speaker with us on a road trip to Portland, Oregon. We did a walking tour of the many craft breweries in Portland (never drink and drive, people) and wanted to have our music go with us. We simply fired up the speaker, turned on a playlist, popped it into our backpack and had music on the go. Very convenient to not have any wires connecting my phone and the speaker and my phone stayed in my pocket the entire time.

The outstanding sound quality even when turned up all the way was just part of the appeal of this powerful little speaker. The long battery life was a major selling point for us. It took us about three hours to fully charge the speaker and it lasted over eight hours. Not sure how many hours it would have lasted beyond that but we played it for over eight hours at a rather high volume while tailgating and the sound never got softer due to the battery running out.

After thoroughly testing the Rapoo A500 Bluetooth Portable NFC Speaker while tailgating and on a road trip, we are going to give it the tailgating Ideas “Tailgate Approved” stamp of approval. The sound quality, the battery life combined with the small size and big sound make it a great addition to any tailgating kit.

For more information on the Rapoo A500 Bluetooth Portable NFC Speaker, visit: Rapoo.com. To buy one for yourself, visit: Amazon.com.

Normally combining two names into one is reserved for Hollywood power couples. Brad Pitt + Angelina Jolie = Brangelina. When it comes to tailgating, we sometimes do the combo thing too.

The Scorzie would be a great example. It’s a koozie that helps you keep score of your tailgating game = Scorzie. Add the Tablanket to that category. It is a table and blanket all in one package. Hence, Tablanket. But it is more than just two things in one. It is a whole lot more. Check out this video first.

As you can see in the video, there are multiple uses for the Tablanket and you are not just limited to taking it tailgating.

We were sent a sample of the Tablanket to check it out for ourselves to see how easy it was to set up, break down and the functionality of it while tailgating. As you can see in the photo, my kids took to it immediately and asked if they could use it in one of their rooms.

(Disclaimer:We received a sample of the Tablanket. The fact this sample was provided to us free of charge in no way influenced our opinion of the product nor did it impact our ability to test and review the product fairly and objectively.)

So how did the Tablanket idea come to life? Here is the back story.

Tablanket is the creation of its inventor, Ty Dyson, and then brought to life by his business partner, Gary Nightingale.

While residing across the street from both NFL and MLB stadiums, Ty Dyson often noticed during every home game the number of fans sitting on the ground enjoying their pre-game activities. He also noticed these same fans needed a place to put their food, drinks, and other personal items besides the ground. A blanket just wasn’t cutting it. These same fans also required something mobile, so when the game started, they could pack up and enter the stadium. This started the gears turning with Ty, where he realized not only the tailgater could use a more sophisticated product, but any outdoor enthusiast, or even indoor user, who sits on the ground or floor could benefit from his invention.

Ty dreamed of the idea of combining a folding table and blanket into an integrated product that was simple, lightweight, compact, and washable. Having created a patented conceptual design, Ty then approached Gary Nightingale, who specializes in China manufacturing and new product start-ups, to help bring his idea to the mass market. The Tablanket was born.

Now that you know how the Tablanket went from an idea to something you can now buy, let’s cut to the chase. How does it work and especially how does it work in regard to taking it tailgating?

In a nutshell – it works great. Taking it out of the package and unfolding the blanket, which is quite large, was a no brainer. Anyone who tailgates on grass would love this product and it would be great for concerts in the park or just taking it for a picnic when it is not tailgating season. The Tablanket would be ideal for those baseball stadiums that offer grassy area seats where you can bring in your own picnic.

It is really refreshing to see a product come along and hit the market that from the initial concept, it was designed to help make tailgating easier and better. After thoroughly testing out the Tablanket, it gets the Tailgating Ideas “Tailgate Approved” stamp.

The Tablanket comes in a variety of colors and as you saw in the video, more accessories are in the works. The Tablanket will cost you about $50 and they are currently offering free shipping to buyers living in the lower 48 states.

To learn more or to buy a Tablanket for yourself, visit: tablanket.com

Even though we have changed the clocks forward and the official First Day of Spring is about 10 days away, it might be a good time to start thinking about spring weather tailgating. And what do you associate the most when you hear the term “spring”? Spring Break, of course.

In honor of that, we want to tell you about a cool beer pong product called the Pool Lounge Pong Raft. Made by the same guys that brought you GoPong beer pong tables and more notable, the Pool Pong Party Barge, have a slight variation to hit the market.

Dubbed the Pool Lounge Pong Raft, it looks very similar to the Pool Pong Party Barge. The Pool Lounge Pong Raft has the cup holders in the triangle pattern on each end just like the Party Barge and also includes eight cup holders around the edge. The additional cup holders can be used for a wash cup, spectators of the game to hold their beverages or just a place to put your drink while you are social floating and using it as a floating bar.

The main difference is that the Pool Pong Party Barge has a central cooler that can hold up to 18 canned beverages plus a bag of ice while the Pool Lounge Pong Raft does not. So why would you choose the Pool Lounge Pong Raft over the Party Barge? Affordability makes this one more attractive for those that are price conscience.

The Pool Lounge Pong Raft is specifically designed for floating beer pong either in a pool or a lake but can also be used while tailgating. Each of the four corners contains a grommet. Just tie a string or twine through it and suspend it from the frame of your pop-up tent and you now have a levitating beer pong table in the parking lot. It also collapses down to a much smaller size when transporting it to and from the tailgate leaving more room in your car for friends, food or, oh yeah, beer.

The Pool Lounge Pong Raft also includes three balls so all you need to provide are the plastic party cups and the beer and you are ready to play.

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About Me

TailgatingIdeas.com is a tailgating blog dedicated to bringing you the latest and most intriguing tailgating ideas out there. Whether it is the latest tailgating gear reviews, a great new recipe or a funny list to make you smile, our goal is to inform and entertain the avid and the casual tailgater alike.

Started in August 2007 by tailgating enthusiast Dave Lamm, TailgatingIdeas.com has evolved into an advocate for tailgaters rights and is not afraid to touch on controversial issues confronting those who frequent the tailgating parking lots.

To learn more about TailgatingIdeas.com and our team of writers, reviewers, cartoonists and contributors, please visit the About Us page.